(a) A regular full-time employee of a privately owned public utility or cooperative utility or of the utility’s affiliate is exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter if the employee:
(1) performs services exclusively for the utility or affiliate; and
(2) does not have the final authority to approve, or the ultimate responsibility for, engineering designs, plans, or specifications that are to be:
(A) incorporated into fixed works, systems, or facilities on the property of others; or
(B) made available to the public.
(b) A person who claims an exemption under this section and who is determined to have directly or indirectly represented the person as legally qualified to engage in the practice of engineering or who is determined to have violated § 1001.301 may not claim an exemption until the 10th anniversary of the date the person made that representation.